Reply #55: Northwest Airlines Denies Reality with Propaganda [View All]

[UpInArms]

Northwest says it avoids big disruptions

http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-08-23T004219Z_01_N22481321_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-AIRLINES-NORTHWEST-DC.XML

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Northwest Airlines (NWAC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) avoided big disruptions in its flight schedule on Monday in the first full test of its ability to weather a strike by the union representing mechanics and related workers, the company said.

The airline hoped to complete 96 percent of its 1,473 scheduled flights on the first weekday since 4,400 members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association walked off the job in a dispute over proposed concessions.

"We are continuing to experience a normal operating day," said Northwest spokeswoman Jennifer Bagdade.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that flights by all airlines at Northwest hub airports in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis were operating at or close to schedule.

The carrier is running a fall schedule, which usually begins after Labor Day, rather than a busier summer lineup.

While the airline would not disclose its on-time performance or service glitches, its Web site revealed some problems with delays and cancellations. The union also said the carrier was struggling.

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CNN Headlines tell a different tale:

Delays reportedly mount at Northwest
Day 3 of mechanics' strike at No. 4 airline brings increasing delays according to surveys.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/23/news/fortune500/northwest_delays/

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - More than six out of 10 Northwest Airlines flights were late Monday, the airline's first weekday since it was struck by its mechanics union, according to one survey of the struck airline's operations.

Other surveys are showing roughly half the Northwest flights are flying late, although only a small percentage of flights are being cancelled.

<snip>

While the airline says that its use of replacement workers, outside contractors and management employees has allowed it to maintain close to normal operations, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association charges its three-day strike is causing significant operational problems for the nation's No. 4 airline.

One survey, conducted by business travel site Joe Sent Me.com, only 37.5 percent of 99 flights surveyed arrived on time. The survey also found that the average delay of the flights that were late was a bit less than an hour, or a slight improvement from the hour-plus average delays found in identical surveys Saturday and Sunday.

The worst delay found in the business travel Web site's survey was a 6-hour, 29-minute delay on Northwest Flight 411 from Flint, Mich., to Minneapolis St. Paul, on what was scheduled to be a 41 minute flight.

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